This recipe has been heavily tweaked from the original "Sourdough Pancakes" recipe in the Sunset Cook Book of Breads. I used the recipe regularly for a month or two during this past summer to help a new sourdough starter along and have continued trying different variations for the past six months, and the recipe below is what I've settled on for my "normal" pancakes. I like my pancakes thick and filling, so give this a try if you do too. Following the recipe is a list of tweaks I've tried and would like to try.

Primary Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½+ cup sourdough starter
• 2 cups buttermilk or kefir (subs. 2 T vinegar + enough milk to make 2 cups)

Secondary Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup oil
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 t baking soda
• ½ t salt

Method:

• Stir primary ingredients together in a bowl.Cover, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge. At this stage I've also let it sit for a week in the fridge, which lets a slight sour flavor develop.
• On baking day, stir the secondary ingredients into your bowl. Cook on a griddle at medium-low heat, or as you would normally cook pancakes. This recipe makes a lot of pancakes, and they are very filling, but they reheat well.

Tweaks:

• I've swapped out the flour and oats for different combinations of rye flour, masa harina, cornmeal, and other rolled grains, and they all tasted great.
• You can increase the amount of sourdough starter added without ill effects if you need to use up a specific amount.
• Add nuts, chocolate chips, citrus zest, or fresh or dried fruit with the secondary ingredients.
• Add poppy, caraway, chia, or flax seeds at either stage.
• Other Substitutions: substitute non-dairy milk; eggs can be omitted and the batter will work, or they can be replaced with another binder such as chia or flax; sugar can be omitted entirely.